VZCZCXRO4712
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHKUK
DE RUEHMK #1989/01 3371200
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FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6094
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT  PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RUENAAA/SECNAV WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 001989 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2016 
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS BA REGION BILAT OFFICIALS
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER TELLS NAVY SECRETARY U.S. IS 
BAHRAIN'S "NUMBER ONE ALLY AND FRIEND" 
 
Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C) Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid November 26 welcomed 
Secretary of the Navy Winter to Bahrain and thanked him for 
 
SIPDIS 
all the United States does to promote stability and security 
in the region, saying the U.S. is Bahrain's "number one ally 
and friend."  Referring to the U.S.-Bahrain free trade 
agreement, which entered into force in August 2006, he said a 
growing economy serves to strengthen peace and stability.  In 
response to the Secretary's praise of Bahrain's elections, 
which took place a day earlier, Shaikh Khalid said the 
preparations had taken a lot of work and the outcome appeared 
to please everyone.  The Minister urged the Navy to allow its 
dependents to return to Bahrain and pledged the GOB's help on 
any issue of concern.  Shaikh Khalid worried about the lack 
of transparency in Iran's nuclear program and said that if 
Iran wants to become a world power, it should act 
responsibly.  Iran, he said, is helping both Shia and Sunnis 
in Iraq continue fighting because it does not want Iraq to 
succeed.  He stated that Palestinian President Abbas is 
facing Iranian support for Hamas.  End Summary. 
 
---------------------- 
"Bahrain Is Your Home" 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa 
welcomed Secretary of the Navy Winter to Bahrain November 26, 
saying "Bahrain is your home in the region and has been for 
decades."  Citing the strength and friendship between the two 
countries, Shaikh Khalid thanked the United States for all it 
does to promote stability and security. The U.S. is Bahrain's 
"number one ally and friend."  The Secretary stated that the 
U.S. and Bahrain have a mutually beneficial relationship and 
noted that Bahrain represents one of the two largest U.S. 
fleet concentration areas outside the United States, the 
other being Japan.  But Bahrain, he said, is particularly 
important because of the dangers and challenges in the 
region.  The Minister commented that Bahrain is an oasis of 
tranquillity in a tough neighborhood. 
 
¶3.  (C) Shaikh Khalid said Bahrain was very pleased with the 
U.S.-Bahrain free trade agreement, which entered into force 
in August 2006, and the government was working to make it 
succeed.  A growing economy serves to strengthen peace and 
stability, he said.  The Secretary agreed, saying that 
countries that are bound economically become bound in other 
ways.  Shaikh Khalid thanked the Secretary for USG assistance 
in the return of four Bahraini detainees at Guantanamo.  He 
said the GOB was honoring its commitments, keeping a watchful 
eye on the returnees and not allowing them to travel.  He 
asked that the United States review the cases of the 
remaining two Bahraini detainees and pledged that Bahrain 
will do its part. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Continued Progress on Democratic Reform 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) The Secretary congratulated the Minister on Bahrain's 
elections, which had taken place the previous day.  He 
commented that it was important that the electoral process be 
carried out well.  Shaikh Khalid said the preparations had 
taken a lot of work and the outcome appears to be pleasing to 
everyone.  He reported that after he voted, a journalist had 
asked him his views of the opposition possibly taking over 
parliament.  He had replied that there would only be Bahraini 
citizens in parliament and he looked forward to working with 
them.  He told the Secretary that all walks of Bahraini 
political life would be represented, and hopefully it would 
be a productive four years.  Internal stability, he said, 
comes with an understanding between the people and the 
leadership.  "We are facing in the right direction on 
democracy and will keep moving - we're not going back," he 
said. 
 
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Plea for Return of Navy Dependents 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Shaikh Khalid asked the Secretary when dependents of 
U.S. Navy personnel would return to Bahrain, stating that the 
GOB wants them to come back.  The Secretary said the Navy 
needs to run through a process, evaluating certain measures 
 
MANAMA 00001989  002 OF 003 
 
 
to ensure conditions are right.  The Navy would proceed when 
all relevant issues are addressed.  Shaikh Khalid offered the 
GOB's help on any issue of concern.  Return of the dependents 
would ensure that human relations and social ties between 
Americans and Bahrainis are enhanced and that the DOD Bahrain 
School remains open and running.  The school brings people 
together and makes bonds stronger.  He said the dependents do 
not need to return en masse with a big announcement; it would 
be better if people returned "in a natural way." 
 
------------------------------- 
Assessment of Regional Security 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) The Minister asked the Secretary for his assessment 
of Gulf security.  The Secretary replied that he was pleased 
with the operation of the naval coalition for maritime 
security.  He said he worried about what Bahrain's neighbors 
may have in mind and about the situation in the Horn of 
Africa.  The United States wants to be very careful with its 
posture in the region.  Shaikh Khalid said that Bahrain was 
also very concerned about security and stability in the 
region.  He said that even in the Horn of Africa, one party 
in Somalia is linked to Iran and is getting money and arms. 
Similarly, Iran is meddling in Yemen. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Iranian Nuclear Program a Dangerous Threat 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (C) Shaikh Khalid said that even if Iran's nuclear 
program is peaceful, it represents a dangerous threat. 
Bahrain is only 200 kilometers from the Bushehr reactor. 
Iran is a country that aspires to be a world power, so it 
should act responsibly and not play dirty games with 
insurgents and armed groups.  He said that when he visited 
Iran some time ago, all the officials he met insisted the 
program was peaceful.  At first, they said nuclear weapons 
are "haram," religiously forbidden.  Later, they stopped 
using this word and employed a more diluted formulation. 
 
¶8.  (C) Shaikh Khalid said that the biggest problem with the 
Iranians is the lack of transparency in the nuclear program. 
The Secretary agreed, saying the United States worried about 
this also.  We have a limited understanding about what else 
the Iranians may be doing.  The nuclear program could 
destabilize the region, he said.  Shaikh Khalid stated that 
the EU-3 proposal to Iran offered good incentives in the 
economic and nuclear cooperation fields.  He cautioned, 
however, that Iran should not be offered any political 
incentives implying recognition of Iran's role in the region 
until the government improves its behavior.  "They are not 
the biggest player in the region," he said, "if we all work 
together."  Noting he had recently visited Russia, where he 
had met with Foreign Minister Lavrov and former Foreign 
Ministers Ivanov and Primakov, Shaikh Khalid said he had 
asked the Russians about the government's position on Iran's 
nuclear program, which is not clear.  He told them that 
Russia is wasting time, and this makes Bahrain uneasy. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Iranian Meddling in Iraq, Palestinian Territories 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶9.  (C) Shaikh Khalid said it is easy to see Iran's influence 
in Iraq today.  "We know they do not want Iraq to succeed," 
he said, and so Iran helps both the Shia and Sunni sides keep 
the fighting going.  When Iraq succeeds, the Iranian 
government will have failed in its policy, and they do not 
want that day to come.  The Minister said we must continue to 
share information and work together on regional issues. 
 
¶10.  (C) Shaikh Khalid emphasized that peace between Israel 
and the Palestinians was critical.  At times, the parties get 
close and peace seems achievable, and at other times not.  He 
said Bahrain has contact with both sides, and he had visited 
Palestinian President Abbas recently in Ramallah.  Abbas is 
facing Iranian support for Hamas, which Shaikh Khalid views 
as a continuation of the Iraq and Lebanon conflicts.  "All 
the issues we face in the region are tied to Iran," he said. 
 
¶11.  (U) Secretary Winter cleared this cable. 
 
 
********************************************* ******** 
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
********************************************* ******** 
 
MANAMA 00001989  003 OF 003 
 
 
MONROE